Spraying device



Dec. 3, 1963 R. A. GILMOUR 3,112,834

SPRAYING DEVICE Filed May 9, 1961 INVENTOR 202,521 A. GlLMouQ ATTORNEYS 3,112,884 SPRAYENG DEVICE Robert Giirnour, Giimour Mtg. (30., Somerset, Pa. Fiied May 9, 1961, Ser. No. 103,364 Ciainrs. (U. 239-4113) This invention relates to sprayers of the type in which a pressurized fluid stream flowing through a conduit creates a suction which draws a liquid to be sprayed into the conduit through an aperture in a wall of the conduit. More in particular-i, it relates to modifications in a sprayer of this type which permits an operator to regulate the amount of material to be sprayed in the final spray mixture.

Conventional sprayers comprise a container of liquid to be sprayed, a delivery tube having one end extending into the liquid and a spray head attached to the other end of the tube. The spray head conventionally includes an open-ended conduit, commonly called a barrel, a litting on one end at the conduit for attaching the head to a source of fluid pressure, an inlet aperture downstream of the fitting to which the delivery tube is attached, and a dispersing nozzle at the other end of the conduit for directing the fluid stream emerging from the conduit during operation. When pressurized fluid, such as water or air, is applied at the fitting on the conduit, the resulting ilow of the fluid produces suction at a location in the conduit which depends on the internal configuration of the conduit. The inlet aperture which is connected to the delivery tube is located at a point of suction in the conduit so that liquid in the container is drawn through the tube into the conduit and mixed with the fluid stream. At the nozzle, the mixture of pressurized fluid and liquid is ejected from the conduit as a spray. In one type of 5 may head, a manually adjusted valve between the inlet aperture and the delivery tube regulates the relative amount of liquid that is sucked into the fluid stream.

It is an object of the present invention to provide a spray head having a flow passage therein provided with means for bleeding air into the passage whereby the relative amount of liquid that is sucked into the passage may be controlled.

A further object of the present invention is the provision of a spray head of the type described having a how passage therein provided with orifice means in which very small amounts of liquid may be accurately and controllably fed into the passage of the spray head.

These and other objects of the present invention will become more apparent during the course of the following detailed description and appended claims.

The invention may best be understood with reference to the accompanying drawings wherein an illustrative embodiment is shown.

in the drawings:

FiGURE l is a side elevation partly in section of a sprayer embodying the principles of the present invention;

FIGURE 2 is a front elevation partly in section of the sprayer of FiGURE 1;

FIGURE 3 is a side elevation of the variable orifice means for the sprayer shown in FIGURE 1; and

FTGURE 4 is an elevation of an orifice plug for the delivery tube of the spray head shown in FIGURE 1.

FIGURE 1 shows a complete spnayer which consists of a spray head 16 modified in accordance with the invention, a container 12 for holding a liquid 16 to be sprayed and a conventional pistohgrip type oi water nozzle 14, of the type shown in Patent No. 2,788,244, for delivering water under pressure to the spray head iii. The water nozzle includes a plunger 11 which is spring biased against the spray head to prevent flow of Water from the nozzle 14 into the spray head and a pivoted con- "3,112,834 Patented Dec. 3, 1963 trol lever 16 connecting with an actuator rod 15 attached to the plunger 11 for moving the plunger away from the spray head. The container 12 may be constructed of any mate-rial suitable for holding the liquid 16 which is to be sprayed and may be of any convenient size and shape. In the embodiment described, the liquid :16 is considered to be a concentrate of fertilizer or insecticide and a quart container constructed of metal, glass or plastic is suitable. A source of water pressure (not shown) is connected to the conventional water nozzle 14 which controllably supplies water under pressure for operating the sprayer. The spray head is constructed of brass but other materials could be employed if desired.

The spray head 1h includes a round hollow barrel or conduit 18 defining a fiow passage therethrough and having a restricted inlet end portion '17, an outlet end portion 19 of increased diameter. The inlet end of the conduit is provided with an outwardly extending flange 21 integral therewith and with a conventional internally threaded coupling which engages the flange 21. The coup ling 26 is knurled on its exterior surface 21 to aid in gripping it. While the coupling 20 is shown connected to the conventional water nozzle 14 because water flow into the spray head It? can thereby be easily controlled, it could be connected to any other Water supply means. A Washer 22 in the coupling 20 prevents leakage of water around the threads of the coupling. The barrel 18 is supported intermediate its ends in an external sleeve 24 which has an externally threaded lower nipple 26 projecting downwardly therefrom for coupling with a cap 23 onto which the container 12 is threaded. Cap 28 has an opening 29 formed in the upper portion of the vent to the cap interior of the container to the atmosphere. A delivery tube 36) for delivering liquid 16 to the barrel 18 has an upper end thereof inserted in the bore of the lower nipple 26 and projects into liquid .16 in container :12. Toward its lower end 32, delivery tube 33 is bent as at 34 toward the periphery of container 12 so that the lower end 32 may be maintained below the liquid surface in the container by tipping the sprayer if necessary. An orifice plug on, to be described hereinafter, is reinovably held in lower end 32 of the delivery tube. The barrel 18 has a first aperture 3-6 in the wall thereof located at the junction of portions 17 and 19 which is subject to suction when water is forced through the barrel. The aperture is in register with the bore of lower nipple 26 and thus functions as a liquid concentrate inlet for the spray head it A second aperture 38 in the Wall of barrel 18 is located at a suction point and is in register with the bore of an exteriorly threaded upper nipple 4% in the sleeve 24-, the aperture 38 and the bore forming a vent. An orifice disk 42, to be described hereinafter, is coupled to the upper end of upper nipple 46. A spray spreader 4-4, consisting of a thin elongated plate 46 and an adjusting screw 42 is pivoted on a pin 5% near the discharge end of barrel 18.

The orifice disk 42 is a thin cylindrical body having a relatively large axial bore 52 thercthrough and ten smaller radial holes extending at right angles from the bore 52 to the outer edge of the disk 42. The inner ends of the ho cs 54 have difierent diameters and term a plurality of rifices 56. The outer ends of holes 54 are of enlarged constant size and are interiorly threaded so as to be complementary with the threads on upper nipple id on sleeve 2%. Thus, orifice disk is adapted to be mounted on upper nipple it? in any of ten positions, each of which places a different orifice Ed in register with aperture 38. In the embodiment described, the orifices 56 vary in size from about & inch diameter to about inch diameter, but the range of sizes will vary depending on the desired dilution and the physical properties of the liquid 16. The number of orifices will also vary but should be kept at a 3 minimum so that the size of the disk does not become excessive.

In the described embodiment, delivery tube 3!} has inserted in the lower end 32 thereof a removable orifice plug 6% which reduces the size of the ellective inlet opening of the tube. Delivery tube St? is constructed of a standard tube of, for example, A inch diameter, but the effective inlet opening with orifice plug 6%) in place is of the order of A inch diameter. FIGURE 4- shows an enlarged view of orifice plug 69 which consists of a hollow tubular body 62, a flange ss at one end, a disk 66 sealed to the other end and an orifice 68 in the center of the disk 66. The body 62 is sized to frietionally engage the bore of delivery tube 3% when inserted therein and flange 64 is sized to prevent the plug from slipping completely into the tube 30. A second orifice plug 58 is identical with plug on except that the orifice is somewhat smaller. Orifice plug 58 is interchangeable with plug 60 for insertion in the end 32 of delivery tube 38. When not in use in tube 3%, plug 58, as seen in FTGURE 2, rests loosely in a vertical cavity 79 in the top of sleeve 24 and is prevented from falling out of the cavity 76 by orifice disk 42 the lower edge of which overhangs the flange on the plug. The plug is readily removed from the cavity with the fingers after orifice disk 42 has been unscrewed from upper nipple 40.

The operation of the sprayer of FIGURE 1, after water nozzle 14 is attached to the coupling 20 of the spray head 10 will now be described. Lever 13 on water nozzle 14, when pressed with the hand pulls rod 15 and interconnected plunger 11 to the right as seen in FIGURE 1 so that water can pass into portion 17. The water flowing through barrel 18 produces suction at the location of the apertures 36 and 38 at the junction of portions 17 and 19. T he suction causes liquid concentrate 16 to be sucked through delivery tube 39 and aperture 36 into the barrel where it is diluted with the water stream and elected from the discharge end of the barrel.

The suction also causes air to be sucked through one of the orifices 56 in orifice disk 42 through the vent formed by the bore of the nipple 4i) and the aperture 38 and into the barrel where it too is mixed with the water stream in the barrel. The angle of spreader plate 44 may be adjusted by turning screw 43 so that the mixture may be dispersed and deflected to varying degrees after leaving the barrel. At a constant flow of water the total suction remains constant and the amount of suction available to suck in liquid concentrate depends on the amount of air being bled into the barrel through the orifice disk 42. Since the air entering aperture 38 from the orifice disk ecreases the suction available for pulling in liquid concentrate in, the different sized orifices 56 in the disk can be employed to control the relative amount of liquid concentrate in the final spray mixture. When orifice disk 42 is mounted on upper nipple 46 so that a small orifice 56 registers with aperture 38, large amounts of concentrate 16 will be pulled into the barrel. Conversely, when orifice disk .2, is mounted so that a large orifice 56 registers with aperture 33, relatively small amounts of concentrate 16 will be pulled into the barrel. In order to change from one orifice to another, one merely unscrews orifice disk 2- from upper nipple as, rotates the disk until the desired orifice is in register with the bore of the nipple, and screws the disk onto the nipple again. At constant water fiow, each orifice, when in place on nipple 40, will produce a particular dilution of concentrate 15 in the final mixture. Thus each orifice may be calibrated in terms of unit of concentrate per unit of water. The calibration of each orifice may be stamped on the orifice disk near its respective orifice to aid the operator in using the sprayer.

In order to achieve a highly diluted mixture of concentrate 16 in water in the final spray, it is necessary to employ one of the orifice plugs 58 or 6%] in the lower end 3 d liver y tub .39.. Control of very low fiow rates through tube 36 solely by adjusting the suction at the upper end of the tube is difiicult because of the relatively large diameter, for example inch, of the tube. Orifice plugs 58 and 64), having very small orifices therein, permit the control of very small flow rates of concentrate 16 when either of them is in place in delivery tube 39. In the disclosed embodiment, each of the orifice plugs is used in conjunction with a different group of orifices 56 to give a total range of dilutions of concentrate 16 from 2 teaspoons of concentrate/gallon of water to 11 tablespoons of concentrate/gallon of water. To obtain the highest concentration, orifice 66 is inserted into delivery tube 3% after container 12 has been removed and orifice disk 42 is screwed on to nipple 40 so that the smallest orifice 56 (about inch diameter) is in register with aperture 33. Concentrations of 8, 6, 5, 4, 3 and 2 tablespoons of concentrate/gallon of water may be obtained by changing the position of orifice disk on nipple 49 so as to place orifices of increasing diameter in register with aperture 38. When even lower concentrations are desired, a difierent series of orifices 536 are employed and orifice plug 5% which has a somewhat smaller orifice than does plug 6t), is substituted for plug 66 in delivery tube 34 To effect the substitution, container 1'2 is removed from the spray head and orifice plug 60 is withdrawn from tube 30. Then, after orifice disk 4-2 has been removed from upper nipple 4t), orifice plug 53 is removed from cavity and inserted in tube 30. Plug 69 should then be placed in cavity '76 and orifice disk 42 replaced so that plug 63 will be readily available for future use. The remaining three orifices 56 in orifice disk 42 may then be placed in register with aperture 33 to produce concentrations of 4, 3 and 2 teaspoons of concentrate/ gallon of water in the final spray mixture. To aid in identifying the orifices 56 of the described embodiment, the calibration of each orifice has been stamped on the side of orifice disk 42 adjacent each orifice. As seen in FIGURE 3, seven of the orifices are identified on one side of the disk 42 in terms of tablespoons of concentratc/ gallon of water. As seen in part in FIGURE 1 the remaining three orifices are identified on the other side of the disk in terms of teaspoons of concentrate/ gallon of water.

The spray head of the invention thus possesses many advantageous features. The use of an orifice disk for bleeding air into the barrel provides a compact means for rapidly, accurately and positively adjusting the concentration of concentrate in the final spray. The arrangement of radial holes and an axial bore in the orifice disk is advantageous because the small orifices being on an inner edge of the disk are protected from injury and clogging with dirt. The use of orifice plugs in conjunction with the orifice disk is advantageous because very low concentrations of concentrate in the stream can thereby be controlled. It should be understood, however, that the orifice disk can be used on a spray head without the presence of an orifice plug in the delivery tube when high concentrations of concentrate are desired in the stream. It should also be understood that the orifice disk with or without an orifice plug can be employed in combination with an air-operated sprayer as well as with a water-operated sprayer.

It is to be understood that the invention is not limited to the precise embodiment described above and that minor modifications may be made within the scope of the invention.

What is claimed is:

1. A spraying device comprising: means defining a flow passage which has a discharge end and an inlet end, said fiow passage defining means having a first aperture connecting with the flow passage for delivering material to be sprayed into the flow passage; tube means engaged at one end thereof with said first aperture; said flow passage defining means having a second aperture connecting with the flow passage; 21 member having a plurality of different-sized holes therethrough; coupling means associated with one end of each hole; and complementary mating coupling means associated with said second aperture whereby each of said holes may be separately brought into register with said second aperture.

2. Spraying device as in claim 1 wherein said member is a disk having an axial bore therethrough, wherein said holes extend from the outer edge of the disk to the bore in the disk and wherein said coupling means associated with each hole are located at the outer edge of the disk adjacent each hole.

3. A spraying device comprising: a conduit having a spray outlet opening at one end, a fluid inlet opening at the other end, a first inlet aperture intermediate its ends for delivering material to be sprayed into the conduit, a second inlet aperture intermediate its ends; coupling means associated with said second inlet aperture; a memher having an aperture extending from one outer surface thereof to another outer surface thereof and forming a relatively large bore therein; said member having a plurality of holes extending through the body thereof and having outer ends in an exterior surface of the member and inner ends connecting with the bore; coupling means complementary to said first named coupling means associated with the outer end of each hole; and means defining an orifice associated with the inner end of each hole.

4. Spraying device as in claim 2 wherein said member is a right circular cylinder, said bore extends from one end of the cylinder to the other, said holes extend from the outer curved wall of the cylinder to the bore and wherein the outer end of each hole is interiorly threaded to form the coupling means associated with each hole.

5. A spraying device comprising: conduit means defining an open-ended flow passage, said passage having a constricted inlet portion, an enlarged outlet portion communicating with said inlet portion whereby fluid flowing from said inlet portion into said outlet portion creates a suction Zone in said outlet portion, a vent communicating with said suction zone and with the atmosphere and an inlet aperture communicating with said suction zone; means for communicating said inlet aperture with a source of liquid to be sprayed; an exterior member having a plurality of spaced different-sized orifices therethrough; and means adjustably mounting said member on said conduit means adjacent said vent in a plurality of different positions such that each of said orifices may be separately brought into register with said vent.

References (Iited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS 2,230,201 Hermann Jan. 28, 1941 2,399,081 Vose Apr. 23, 1946 2,571,871 Hayes Oct. 16, 1951 2,612,403 Burch Sept. 30, 1952 2,788,244 Gilmour Apr. 9, 1957 2,788,245 Gilmour Apr. 9, 1957 2,789,010 Dean Apr. 16, 1957 

1. A SPRAYING DEVICE COMPRISING: MEANS DEFINING A FLOW PASSAGE WHICH HAS A DISCHARGE END AND AN INLET END, SAID FLOW PASSAGE DEFINING MEANS HAVING A FIRST APERTURE CONNECTING WITH THE FLOW PASSAGE FOR DELIVERING MATERIAL TO BE SPRAYED INTO THE FLOW PASSAGE; TUBE MEANS ENGAGED AT ONE END THEREOF WITH SAID FIRST APERTURE; SAID FLOW PASSGE DEFINING MEANS HAVING A SECOND APERTURE CONNECTING WITH THE FLOW PASSAGE; A MEMBER HAVING A PLURALITY OF DIFFERENT-SIZED HOLES THERETHROUGH; COUPLING MEANS ASSOCIATED WITH ONE END OF EACH HOLE; AND COMPLEMENTARY MATING 